Life-guard for trams.



PATENTED SEPT. 29, 1903.

W. HIRT'.

LIFE GUARD FOB. TEAMS.

APYLIOATION FILED NOV. 7, 1902.

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PATENTED SEPT. 29, 1903.

W. HIRT. LIFE GUARD FOR TEAMS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 7, 1902.

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No. 740,134. PATENTED SEPT. 29, 1903.

w. HIRT.

LIFE GUARD FOR TRAMS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 7, 1902.

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W. HIRT.

LIFE GUARD FOR TRAMS. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 7, 1902.

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' ATTORN Us i atented September 29 1903.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WALTER HIRT, OF BRESLAU, GERMANY.

LIFE-GUARD FOR'TRAMS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 740,134, dated September 29, .1903. Application filed November '7, 1902. Serial No. 130,393. (No model.)

T to whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, WALTER HIRT, medical larger scale, and Fig. 4 shows a portion thereof as seen from below. Figs. 5 and 6 illus trate a modification of the guard in side and front elevation, respectively. Figs. 7 and 8 are side'elevations, and Figs. 9 and 10a front elevation and plan, respectively, illustrating further modifications of the guard. Figs. 11 and 12 illustrate the action of the guard.

The guard apparatus consists in substance of a brush-like part A, which is connected in any suitable way to the front platform of the vehicle. The rods or loops 1) c are of cane or other suitable elastic material and have both their ends inserted or threaded in the wooden bar or rail a, so that they are bent at the point at which they are nearest to the roadway. All the loops can bend, backward freely and are of such a length that the body lying on the rails comes only in contact with these loops and not with thewooden bar a. By this means the body is pushed with a quite elastic shock. As soon as these loops meet an obstacle they bend backward and receive hereby a considerable tension. However, the bent loops cannot cause serious injury in sliding over the body, as they have nosharp edges.

In the modification shown in-Figs. 3 and 4 the loop 0 is disposed behind the loop I) and in front of the loop (1 in such manner that in bending back any loop the neighboring loops on one side thereof up to the end of particular row are also forced on bent back with it- The loops of the second row may be with advantage disposedin staggered or alternate order with respect to the loops of the first row. Any desired number of rods or loops may be employed. It is not necessary that the loops or members, the loops may be made of rela-' tively thin material without prejudice to the strength of the guard.

In the present guard-brush all the loops of the brush can bend backward freely, and thus when they'come against a person lying on the track no solid or rigid blow will be imparted, but only an elastic thrust, which cannot cause serious injury. All that can occur under suchcircumstances will be an abrasion of the trunk, and serious injury, such as fractured bones, is prevented. The limbs of a person on the track can pass without danger under the guard, as the yielding nature of the loops enables them to pass between the guard and the roadway, andmore particularly as the elastic loops will also yield to lateral pressure.

It has been found by practical trials that the brush-like guard as above described and .as' illustrated in Figs. 1 to 4 must be on ac? count of the oscillation or rocking of the vehicle so arranged that the bottoms of the loops are at a distance of about ten centimeters above the roadway. This distance, in conjunction with the free backward bending of the elastic loops, might be sufiicient to allow the bodies of children to pass below the guard. In order to overcome this drawback, I may with advantage employ an auxiliary brush-like guard ef, Figs.-5 and 6, vpivotally connected to or combined with the brush-like guard proper, a.

The rods f of this auxiliary guard are inclined forwardly and are of such length that on swinging or turning into the vertical position they touch the roadway.

When the loops f of the auxiliary guard come against a child lying on the track, (the average diameter from front to back of the body of a child two to three years old being about seventeen centimeters, while the bottoms of the loopsfand of the loops 1) are about ten centimeters from the surface of the road,) the loops f are pushed back, and so close the previously open space between the road and the rods 1) at the front. On the removal of the obstruction the springs g return the brush e to its original position. The

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loops f are in any case caused to swing back, and thus close the space at the front of the main guard (1, upon meeting an obstruction, as suitable stops are provided whereby the loops f and the bar or rail e of the auxiliary guard are prevented from swinging outward and upward.

Owing to the inclined auxiliary guard acting in the manner abovedescribed the body of a child cannot slip through between the loops b of the main guard a and the road, as it might otherwise do were it not for the auxiliary guard. Moreover, the loops f can both bend backward and sidewise, and they thus prevent serious injury to the limbs should these be caught between the guard and road.

Figs. 11 and 12 illustrate how the guard behaves in two different types of accident, as shown by trials carried out by me with dummy human figures.

Case I, (Fig. 11.) A man lies upon the track with his back toward the vehicle. The auxiliary guardf closes and the body .2 is met with an extremely resilient blow and pushed forward about two to three paces, all twelve rows of loops of the guard bending backward. Injury does not take place.

Case II, (Fig. 12.) A child has fallen down and lies in the middle of the track with its arms Widely extended, one arm 3 toward the approaching vehicle. The auxiliary guardloopsf being at a distance of, say, ten centimeters from the roadway pass over the arm and are first caught by the body of the child. The loops of the auxiliary guard which closes against the action of its springs are pressed close against the roadway by the vehicle and apparently threaten to mangle the arm of the child; but the elastic loops f, with their rounded ends, yield and move laterally apart, while the arm finds ample space below the loops of the main guard-brush, which is at, say, ten centimeters above the road. Moreover, should the main guard at b strike against the arm, owing to oscillation or rocking of the vehicle, this cannot occasion injury to the arm, because on thus striking it the loops 1) of the main guard also give and also move apart sidewise, if not to such a great extent as the loops f of the auxiliary guard. The auxiliary guard may be provided with loops of thinner or weaker material or with fewer rows of loops than the main guard, as it has only to cover a space of small height, and the working length or portion of the loops is shorter than in the case of the loops of the main guard.

Fig. 7 shows a further and especially advantageous modification of the guard. In this case the auxiliary guard e is likewise pivotally connected to the main guard. In this case the rows 1) of loops of the main guard or are inclined slightly forwardly, so that on coming against an obstruction when the auxiliary guard closes down the loops b are forced first into the vertical position and then back beyond the same. By this means the elasticity of the main guard at and likewise of the whole guard is appreciably increased.

A still better result is attained if the loops of the guard a be arranged as shown in Fig. 8. In this case all the loops areinclined forwardly and the loops 1) project at a greater inclination than the loops b and 19 while the loops b project at a greater inclination than the loops b. In this figure an advantageous arrangement of the springs g is likewise shown, these springs being in this case in tension, while the springs g in Figs. 5 and 7 are in compression.

The brush-like guard can, if desired, be arranged after the manner of a snow-plow that is to say, with a projecting central portion. Such an arrangement is shown in front elevation in Fig. 9 and in plan in Fig. 10. In this modification auxiliary guards e, having loops f, are employed. With this arrangement a person lying on the track will be pushed with an elastic motion to one side out of the reach of the wheels.

I claim- 1. A life-guard with bent rods or'loops, in which each loop of a row is disposed in front of the neighboring loop on one side of it and behind the loop at the other side of it in such a manner that on bending one loop the whole of the loops on the one side of the particular series or row are bent with it in the described manner and for the purpose mentioned.

2. A life-guard with bent loops provided with an auxiliary guard pivotally connected with the main guard, inclined forwardly and having loops f capable of readily yielding sidewise, said loops being of a length at least such that when the auxiliary guard meets an obstruction, it is turned inward and closes the space in front below the main guard in the described manner and for the purpose mentioned.

3. A life-guard with bent loops having a front row of loops b inclined forwardly in order to increase the elasticity of the guard in the described manner and for the purpose mentioned.

4. A life-guard with bent loops having all loops in a forwardly-inclined direction, whereby the inclination of the loops decreases from the front of the guard toward the rear thereof in the described manner and for the purpose mentioned.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two witnesses.

WALTER HIRT.

Witnesses ERNST KATZ, ALBERT SCHENK. 

